"I don't think anyone has said that to me in longer than I remember. Thank you," Bucky says. He tugs a glove onto his left hand and leans in to kiss Natalie's cheek.
"I don't want to mess up your makeup but I wanted to kiss you so that's the compromise. I think the car's out front. I need to warn you first, though. I don't...it happened when I was in a humvee, you know? So I don't like riding in cars. I usually just use my motorcycle but I can't for this so I'm going to be uncomfortable. It's not because you're doing anything wrong, okay? It's just me."
He leaned towards her and Natalie offered her cheek, lashes drifting closed to smell his clean skin and cologne. It surprised her, though, when he offered details about his accident right up front, and she couldn't help but be touched. Maybe the man really was working through his PTSD as hard as he could.
"It's okay, James." She reached for his left hand with her right, pressing their palms together, warm skin to cool leather. "I'll be with you the entire time, and we'll be okay, da?" A pause at the door to adjust his jacket and for her to swirl her matching shawl over her bare shoulders, then the chauffer was bidding them both a good evening and holding open the door to the sleek white limousine.
It wasn't the first one she'd ever ridden in, and Natalie slid right over, arranging her dress like a pro, and once more reached for Bucky's left hand when he joined her and the door closed. "I brought more lipstick with me," she told him in her husky, low voice, and delicately placed fingers against his chin to turn his head to her. A kiss awaited, his mouth just as delicious as before, and Natalie didn't even realize they'd pulled away from the curb and into traffic until they were halfway to Stark Enterprises.
Bucky knows he's going to be wearing her color when the kiss ends but he doesn't really care about that. What he does care about is how good it feels to kiss a woman and spend time with her, to feel special to someone, and he feels special to Natalie right now. He cups her shoulder gently with his right hand to keep it from wandering anywhere else and other than coming up for air a few times, he doesn't stop kissing her until the driver says they're at their stop. Oh. He hadn't even noticed the drive.
He pulls away and brushes his thumb just beneath Natalie's lower lip. "You'd better fix your lipstick and get it off my face because I'm not sure it's fashionable for me to walk in wearing it."
She laughed, the low sound wicked in the dimness of their backseat, and handed him a makeup wipe from her clutch. "Here, this'll help." Then she fixed her own face in a matter of seconds, an old hand with touchups on the fly. In less than a minute, she appeared just as perfect as before, and had her "working" smile in place when the chauffer opened the door.
Taking the offered hand, Natalie stepped out, adjusted her shawl, and waited for Bucky, a little disappointed that she didn't have enough time to put a few marks on that thick neck before they'd arrived. He'd look mighty fine with a few hickys, and it'd help sell their cover further, too.
But, perhaps later, because right now was for taking his offered arm and letting him lead her inside, amid all the glitz and glamor of a Stark gala, the ballroom already nicely crowded even at this early hour.
It is already crowded even though Tony wouldn't show up until at least two hours in and Bucky barely hits the door before people are crowding in to see him. He gets questions about Natalie and fields them as best he can, using his "I'm making a presentation to investors," smile to its full advantage. When he finally gets a moment to break away, he slips his arm around Natalie's waist.
"I'm beginning to think I'm not going to get a chance to have a drink or get to dance. Do you want to go with me to the bar and see if we can at least get some champagne out of this?"
It was startling to see just how popular Barnes really was in this company. From the moment they hit the door, he was surrounded by people, and even she could admit that he needed a breather. When he finally got the chance to talk to her, sliding his arm around her waist, she took full advantage and abruptly towed him off towards the far end of the room.
"Yes," she agreed with a light laugh, ducking behind a few tables and columns to stay out of direct line of sight. "Good God, and we haven't even made it all the way across the room yet." Her lips twitched, bemused. "I'm starting to get why you work from home, James. Do they mob you like this at the office, too?"
"Yes, which is why I only come into the office once or twice a quarter if can help it. It's easier to deal with all of them when they're emails and phone calls. I can turn those off if I want to. I cannot turn off people in my actual face."
He manages to get to the bar and snag two glasses of champagne, offering one to Natalie.
"This is a Stark party, he only buys the good stuff. Let's hide back here so I actually get a chance to have a date instead of being mobbed about work. I would think these people wouldn't want to talk about the job but I guess they really want me to hear about their projects like I don't have my own."
She took the offered glass with a smile of thanks, sipping lightly. And Bucky was right, it was very good. "I'm fine with hiding," she promised, linking her free arm with his as they slowly strolled behind the columns.
Taking another swallow of champagne, Natalie remarked with a saucy twinkle, "I'd even be up for sneaking off to fool around a little, isn't that what couples do at these work parties?"
"It is and I would but the last thing I want is for one of my employees to find me with my pants down in a broom closet," Bucky says, laughing nervously. "Maybe if it was just a club or something but not when I might have to look the person in the eye again one day."
"But we can play hide and seek and see if we can find a place to kiss? As long as all the clothes stay on, I think I can manage to recover if someone catches me."
"What about your office?" Natalie asked him, giving him a slyly coquettish look from beneath her lashes. "Surely no one would dare bother us in there, right?" But she could concede the point; an executive should know better, and she doubted James Barnes would ever do something so crass. Still, the thrill was definitely there.
"But we don't have to go that far if you don't want to, James." And really, he shouldn't have his first time in so very long as a quickie in a locked office at a party. But she had to play the part, and doing so required being a little crass, sometimes.
"Making out a little would definitely be fun," she agreed. Then gestured out over the crowd. "And you can't tell me that we'd be the only ones in here to do it, either. Honestly."
"We will definitely not be the only ones doing it. You have a point about my office, though. I think no one would bother us up there and I have a couch. We could actually kiss without having a schematic shoved in my face every five minutes," Bucky says, laughing softly.
He tosses back the rest of his champagne and puts the flute on a table before wrapping his arms around Natalie's waist. "I'll steal us some more champagne and we can go up there. We can get some privacy and a good view."
The man had a beautiful smile and a wonderful laugh; again, why was he still single? She just couldn't fathom it - even with his emotional trauma he shouldn't have to be paying for anyone to show him affection. Christ, all he'd had to do tonight was walk in the damned door.
Natalie drained her glass and set the flute aside just as Bucky's arms came around her waist, and she twirled with him, the skirt of her gown flaring lightly. "Sounds like a plan, handsome. Let me just go visit the little girl's room, and I'll meet you by the elevator, da?"
A quick kiss sealed her promise, then she slipped out of his grasp and sashayed towards the corner of the room, making sure to give her hips enough sway that he wouldn't be able to help himself watch her leave.
No, he can't help but watch Natalie leave and the idea that she's here with him and he doesn't have to worry about that and can just be himself takes a lot of weight off his shoulders. He tries to act casual as he waits but he ends up fiddling a little and when he spots her, he knows he's staring.
"It's going to be a very, very long elevator ride," Bucky says, shaking his head and smiling a bit. "You look beautiful tonight. I think I said that already but it bears repeating."
She was an expert at ghosting through a crowd, a skill that served her well tonight. By the time she rejoined her date, Tony Stark had arrived, along with all the panache and attention that he generated. So it was probably a good thing that she and Bucky were relocating; she didn't really want to have to jump-start a hyperventilating soldier tonight.
"Good," Natalie smiled, absently sliding her fingers up and down a lapel on Bucky's jacket. "Gives us more time to fool around before we get to your office." A soft, rosy blush flooded her cheeks to his compliment, and she lowered her lashes, demure. "Thank you. I really wanted to look good for you, James. You deserve it."
When she says that he deserves it, a warmth suffuses him and Bucky's not sure why that is. It's been a long time since he's thought about deserving anything other than a good job and steady work and it feels...good to be complimented by Natalie. Really damn good.
His office is on the 60th floor and this elevator is deserted so once he's hit the button, he leans back against the back of the elevator and takes a long look at Natalie for himself.
"Well, you definitely achieved that. You look amazing, regardless or whether or not it's for me."
She'd learned to blush on cue, and that skill also served her well now. The more endearing she could be, the better. "Spasibo," was her quiet whisper, facing him from the other side of the elevator. Natalie glanced around, noting the sleek elegance of even the elevator, and had to mentally shake her head at Tony Stark. Ah, well.
"You know," she mused after a minute, listening absently to the silent hum as they ascended the many floors to his office, "we're not likely to encounter anyone else on the way up there, so...?" She left it hanging, but a coy eyebrow arched in blatant invitation, and the redhead made it even more so with her crooked finger, beckoning.
It's true, they won't encounter anyone on this elevator ride since everyone is downstairs and no one will be sneaking upstairs to work on a night like this so Bucky closes the distance between them to accept Natalie's invitation, lightly looping his arms around her waist.
"What did you have in mind, exactly? We do have uh, 58 floors left and we can slow it down if we press some buttons."
She lifted her arms to put around his neck when he embraced her, swaying into the curve of his long body with a grin. "You could kiss me some more," was the suggestion, followed by, "I don't think the security cameras would appreciate too much more of a show."
Although if he really wanted to have sex in this elevator, Natalie wouldn't say no. The thrill of it was exciting, and if she had to do this, then she was going to enjoy it. ...not that it would be difficult, given the man currently in her arms.
"No, I don't want to end up on security doing more than kissing," Bucky says, laughing softly. "I don't want to give them that much of a show. They might end up dying of embarrassment as soon as I die of embarrassment."
Kissing, though, sounds like a wonderful idea and Bucky moves his right hand up to cup Natalie's cheek.
"You're pretty good at it," she observed, lashes half-closing as she leaned her cheek into his hand, rubbing against his palm. "I like it." Rather than wait for any more floors to pass, though, Natalie inched up on her toes and teased Bucky's lips with hers, soft little pecks to entice, caress.
Her fingernails grazed across the back of his neck, then she ran her hands over his shoulders, down his arms and back again, familiarizing herself with the lines of his body while her mouth played with his. He tasted wonderful, lips warm and soft, a little hesitant still but growing bolder with each and every kiss.
"...touch me, James," she offered, still kissing at his lips. "Touch me while we kiss."
Bucky takes Natalie's invitation and spans his hands at her small waist, leaving them there for the moment. He's aware of the security cameras in the elevator and he doesn't want to be caught doing anything that might embarrass her later.
Kissing, though, is not something he's worried about and he deepens the kiss. He tilts his head a bit to get better access to her mouth and thinks that kissing in his office in a few moments will be even better than this.
He didn't have to worry about her getting embarrassed; it'd take a lot more than some soft necking in an elevator to do that. But baby steps, she understood. So Natalie wound her arms back around Bucky's neck and pressed tightly against him, meeting his mouth with parted lips and giving a small, low moan when her tongue slipped against his.
She licked at him, making sure to rub every inch of her body against his, full breasts gently crushed to his wide chest. If he wasn't breathing hard and tugging at his clothes by the time the doors opened, then she wasn't doing her job correctly. And she'd always been a perfectionist.
They have a while left in the elevator and the kiss is getting hotter, a little more desperate. Bucky hasn't kissed like this in longer than he can remember and honestly? It feels good. It feels good to be wanted and to be able to just share himself with someone. He shrugs off his jacket and works on his cufflinks, tugging hard so he can get the sleeves of his shirt pushed up to his elbows.
"Shit. I dropped my cufflink," Bucky says, looking down as the elevator opens. "Let me get it and you hold the door for me?"
Natalie had to laugh, because those cufflinks truly were giving the poor man absolute hell. But she did as requested, pressing and holding the DOOR OPEN button until he retrieved the small gold ornament. "Put them in your shirt pocket," she suggested. "That way they won't go everywhere."
Then she took his hand and stepped out onto the 60th floor, long dress swirling around her ankles. "Which way to your office?" Although she had an inkling; probably the one on the corner, the largest on this particular floor.
"It's the corner one," Bucky says, pulling her down the hall toward it. He has a beautiful view of the city from his office windows but that isn't the view he's concerned with right now.
"Coming up here was a brilliant idea. No one will think about working while they're down there having a good time and it means I can have a good time."
There's a couch in his office and while it isn't the most comfortable, it'll be better than standing up. Bucky guides Natalie over to it and sits down before sliding his right hand up to cup her cheek. "Can we kiss some more?"
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
"I don't want to mess up your makeup but I wanted to kiss you so that's the compromise. I think the car's out front. I need to warn you first, though. I don't...it happened when I was in a humvee, you know? So I don't like riding in cars. I usually just use my motorcycle but I can't for this so I'm going to be uncomfortable. It's not because you're doing anything wrong, okay? It's just me."
no subject
"It's okay, James." She reached for his left hand with her right, pressing their palms together, warm skin to cool leather. "I'll be with you the entire time, and we'll be okay, da?" A pause at the door to adjust his jacket and for her to swirl her matching shawl over her bare shoulders, then the chauffer was bidding them both a good evening and holding open the door to the sleek white limousine.
It wasn't the first one she'd ever ridden in, and Natalie slid right over, arranging her dress like a pro, and once more reached for Bucky's left hand when he joined her and the door closed. "I brought more lipstick with me," she told him in her husky, low voice, and delicately placed fingers against his chin to turn his head to her. A kiss awaited, his mouth just as delicious as before, and Natalie didn't even realize they'd pulled away from the curb and into traffic until they were halfway to Stark Enterprises.
no subject
He pulls away and brushes his thumb just beneath Natalie's lower lip. "You'd better fix your lipstick and get it off my face because I'm not sure it's fashionable for me to walk in wearing it."
no subject
Taking the offered hand, Natalie stepped out, adjusted her shawl, and waited for Bucky, a little disappointed that she didn't have enough time to put a few marks on that thick neck before they'd arrived. He'd look mighty fine with a few hickys, and it'd help sell their cover further, too.
But, perhaps later, because right now was for taking his offered arm and letting him lead her inside, amid all the glitz and glamor of a Stark gala, the ballroom already nicely crowded even at this early hour.
no subject
"I'm beginning to think I'm not going to get a chance to have a drink or get to dance. Do you want to go with me to the bar and see if we can at least get some champagne out of this?"
no subject
"Yes," she agreed with a light laugh, ducking behind a few tables and columns to stay out of direct line of sight. "Good God, and we haven't even made it all the way across the room yet." Her lips twitched, bemused. "I'm starting to get why you work from home, James. Do they mob you like this at the office, too?"
no subject
He manages to get to the bar and snag two glasses of champagne, offering one to Natalie.
"This is a Stark party, he only buys the good stuff. Let's hide back here so I actually get a chance to have a date instead of being mobbed about work. I would think these people wouldn't want to talk about the job but I guess they really want me to hear about their projects like I don't have my own."
no subject
Taking another swallow of champagne, Natalie remarked with a saucy twinkle, "I'd even be up for sneaking off to fool around a little, isn't that what couples do at these work parties?"
no subject
"But we can play hide and seek and see if we can find a place to kiss? As long as all the clothes stay on, I think I can manage to recover if someone catches me."
no subject
"But we don't have to go that far if you don't want to, James." And really, he shouldn't have his first time in so very long as a quickie in a locked office at a party. But she had to play the part, and doing so required being a little crass, sometimes.
"Making out a little would definitely be fun," she agreed. Then gestured out over the crowd. "And you can't tell me that we'd be the only ones in here to do it, either. Honestly."
no subject
He tosses back the rest of his champagne and puts the flute on a table before wrapping his arms around Natalie's waist. "I'll steal us some more champagne and we can go up there. We can get some privacy and a good view."
no subject
Natalie drained her glass and set the flute aside just as Bucky's arms came around her waist, and she twirled with him, the skirt of her gown flaring lightly. "Sounds like a plan, handsome. Let me just go visit the little girl's room, and I'll meet you by the elevator, da?"
A quick kiss sealed her promise, then she slipped out of his grasp and sashayed towards the corner of the room, making sure to give her hips enough sway that he wouldn't be able to help himself watch her leave.
no subject
"It's going to be a very, very long elevator ride," Bucky says, shaking his head and smiling a bit. "You look beautiful tonight. I think I said that already but it bears repeating."
no subject
"Good," Natalie smiled, absently sliding her fingers up and down a lapel on Bucky's jacket. "Gives us more time to fool around before we get to your office." A soft, rosy blush flooded her cheeks to his compliment, and she lowered her lashes, demure. "Thank you. I really wanted to look good for you, James. You deserve it."
no subject
His office is on the 60th floor and this elevator is deserted so once he's hit the button, he leans back against the back of the elevator and takes a long look at Natalie for himself.
"Well, you definitely achieved that. You look amazing, regardless or whether or not it's for me."
no subject
"You know," she mused after a minute, listening absently to the silent hum as they ascended the many floors to his office, "we're not likely to encounter anyone else on the way up there, so...?" She left it hanging, but a coy eyebrow arched in blatant invitation, and the redhead made it even more so with her crooked finger, beckoning.
no subject
"What did you have in mind, exactly? We do have uh, 58 floors left and we can slow it down if we press some buttons."
no subject
Although if he really wanted to have sex in this elevator, Natalie wouldn't say no. The thrill of it was exciting, and if she had to do this, then she was going to enjoy it. ...not that it would be difficult, given the man currently in her arms.
no subject
Kissing, though, sounds like a wonderful idea and Bucky moves his right hand up to cup Natalie's cheek.
"Kissing, though, is something I really want."
no subject
Her fingernails grazed across the back of his neck, then she ran her hands over his shoulders, down his arms and back again, familiarizing herself with the lines of his body while her mouth played with his. He tasted wonderful, lips warm and soft, a little hesitant still but growing bolder with each and every kiss.
"...touch me, James," she offered, still kissing at his lips. "Touch me while we kiss."
no subject
Kissing, though, is not something he's worried about and he deepens the kiss. He tilts his head a bit to get better access to her mouth and thinks that kissing in his office in a few moments will be even better than this.
no subject
She licked at him, making sure to rub every inch of her body against his, full breasts gently crushed to his wide chest. If he wasn't breathing hard and tugging at his clothes by the time the doors opened, then she wasn't doing her job correctly. And she'd always been a perfectionist.
no subject
"Shit. I dropped my cufflink," Bucky says, looking down as the elevator opens. "Let me get it and you hold the door for me?"
no subject
Then she took his hand and stepped out onto the 60th floor, long dress swirling around her ankles. "Which way to your office?" Although she had an inkling; probably the one on the corner, the largest on this particular floor.
no subject
"Coming up here was a brilliant idea. No one will think about working while they're down there having a good time and it means I can have a good time."
There's a couch in his office and while it isn't the most comfortable, it'll be better than standing up. Bucky guides Natalie over to it and sits down before sliding his right hand up to cup her cheek. "Can we kiss some more?"
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)